The Howletts
by DannyPhantom Halfa
Summary: After years of torment, the half clones of James Howlett escape and invoke on new adventures. They'll discover society, face new challenges, and deal with their own inner demons as they try to understand the world opened to them. What challenges will they encounter? What secrets are hidden from them? Come find out! Warning: There will be descriptive violent scenes in some chapters
1. Intro

**Warning: If you are sensitive to extreme levels of violence, then be prepared. There's a good amount in here.**

It was a sunny day outside in Louisiana, and dear old governor Johnson was enjoying himself on his private beach watching the sun set below the canopy of pastel clouds. Whiskey in one hand, cigar in the other, he was relaxed as could be. The setting sun beamed onto his peachy wrinkled skin, warming his insides. The sand beneath his bare feet felt soft and cool, the blue salty water of the soothing ocean renewing the microscopic pebbles every few seconds. All was exceptionally well until…

"Ack!" Johnson grabbed at his throat, blood gushing out. He tried grasping for help, a little too late. His brown eyes rolled back, his peachy skin paled to a pasty blue, and his rounded body limp and lifeless. He was dead. A mile away, crouched within a cluster of bushes, was a mutant sniper. Clad in black from head to toe, his face revealed smooth navy blue skin. In his right ear was a communicator, which he clicked to use. "Target has been compromised." He informed. On the other end, his boss was pleased.

"Good. Now get your good for nothing ass back R2." The feminine voice of his boss replied.

"Yes ma'am." R2 packed up his equipment and made his way back to the private army helicopter that was waiting for him. Upon entry, he was met with the thick end of a rifle in the face and as one of the men verbally assaulted him for failing to shoot the target in the head, saying how shitty the job was and how the younger and less experienced weapons could have done better. The fifteen year old remained silent, daring not to yell back for fear of _punishment_. It was the word he, as well as all of the other mutants in the organization, were afraid of. R2 stood stagnant affront the soldier, letting him yell his heart out the entire ride back to the HYDRA base, which contained mutant experiments and inhuman soldiers. Exiting the plane upon landing, two new soldiers escorted him inside. Aware of where he was to go, as it was dinner time, he headed toward the dining hall, alongside the two soldiers who were ensuring his timely arrival. When inside, they kicked him to the ground and left. R2 groaned in pain as he rose and approached the server, who handed him a plate containing a piece of bread and a bowl of fish broth soup. His mouth watered at the bread, thinking, ' _They must be in a good mood today'_ He headed towards a table occupied by six other mutants mostly around his age. Sitting amongst his peers, the conversation began.

"Hey guys, how were your missions?" R2 asked, hoping they were all successful. "And where is X27?" The first to reply was fourteen year old X26.

"He hadn't shown up yet. As for the missions, mine was successful. I had to kill a casino owner, so I snuck in some of the strange foods there." She told him, brushing her jet black hair out of her face. Her sassy sky blue eyes sparkled as she pulled out a small bag of lemon drops. "These things are what I grabbed. They're so weird, yet they're tasty. I can't really describe the flavor." Scanning the proximity to ensure none of the guards were looking, she opened the bag and gave everyone a piece of candy. The group quickly popped the sweet treat in their mouths, silently humming in content of the unfamiliar flavor.

"Thanks X26. You always receive the best missions." One of them, S8, said. He had tan skin, long golden hair that extended to his butt, and his yellow eyes had slanted pupils which were almost catty. He wore an all black suit, wore an all black suit, in perfect unison with the rest. The color didn't flatter his chestnut skin complexion, but he'd never complain, especially at that point in time. "Anyway, I wasn't assigned a mission. They were though." He informed, pointing at the two teens on the far end of the table. The boy, X25, had sharp blue eyes that could pierce into a person's soul, porcelain skin which was almost white, and messy ravenous black hair. The fifteen year old girl, also known as M13, had aqua green hair, medium soft silver eyes, and peachy skin. She was the one to talk.

"Ours went alright. We stole some information from a place called S.H.I.E.L.D." She shrugged. "Had to kill a few guys who saw us though."

One of the girls silently laughed a little. She had canary yellow hair, peachy skin, and soft blue eyes. She was fourteen year old P8. "Had to? Sure, it totally wasn't because you wanted to." N6, a twelve year old girl with blue hair, pale blue tinted skin, and neutral gray eyes snickered in agreement, causing M13 to roll her eyes.

"Oh shut up." She muttered, annoyed with what she considered to be her sisters' childish remarks. Just then, a new set of guards came in and approached the now weary group.

"X25, dinner ends for you. Madame Hydra requests your presence." One of the men commanded. X25 rose from his seat and threw what was left of his meal away. Trailing behind, he expected to be brought to the head operator room, where he was normally taken to meet with the central command, Madame Viper Hydra. However, as the guards averted their typical path, he knew something was up. His weary eyes flashed around, searching for any clarification as to where he was going, only to be met with continuous metallic hallways with unlabeled doors. The scent was familiar, and it almost reminded him of…

' _Oh no.'_ He gasped mentally as the two men forced him to stop at a certain door. His normally slow heart began racing like a speedily galloping race horse full speed, his sharp eyes widened with fear, and his entire body trembled. _'The adamantium process room!'_ Fear inundated his mind, and unconsciously he took a step back only to be hit in the head by one of the soldiers who told him to get his useless bag of lead in the room. He reluctantly obeyed, discontent with what he presumed presumed was about to take place. Once inside, his fear became reality. In the dead center of the room was Viper Hydra, along with seven year old X27. They were surrounded by guards, all of whom were grinning evilly.

"X25, you made it I see." Viper greeted, smiling. "You do know why I called you here, don't you dear?" She asked, expecting an immediate answer. X25 shook his head, causing her to speak up again. "Oh I think you do. It happened to you _all_ those years ago. You remember, don't you?" Wincing in pain as due to traumatizing memories of what he'd endured in that very room inundated his mind, the boy nodded. Viper continued. "Well it's his turn," she said, placing her hand on X27's shoulder, "and I believe _you_ should be here to see it."

X25's mouth fell agape, fear once again consuming his being, this time for X27. "M-Madame Hydra?" He choked. "H-he's no-"

Viper slapped him across the face. "Did I give you permission to talk boy?!" She hissed, her fake fangs showing. In fear of punishment, X25 quickly shook his head, falling silent. Viper placed her hands on her hips. "I didn't think so." Turning to the only scientist in the room, she commanded, "Hook X27 in the Weapon X chamber and begin the adamantium bonding process immediately." The scientist did as told, preparing for the seven year old's adamantium to bone bonding process. Once everything was ready, he patiently waited for Viper's command. "Begin." Viper instructed, and the _on_ button was pressed. X27 began screaming in agony as the boiling hot metal seeped through his body and onto his small bones. Every molecule, every cell was on fire. The heat of the molten metal burnt his insides, making the writhing pain even worse. Viper went behind X25 and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Brings back those sweet memories, doesn't it? When you acquired your beautifully _indestructible_ skeleton. It feels almost like it happened yesterday. You were closer to being as perfect as Weapon X than any other weapon before you, only younger. Now it's his time to prove his worth." She whispered in the boy's ear, gesturing at X27. "Even if he's not as perfect, he will be useful for my plans."

X25 stood frozen in complete terror as he was forced to watch X27 have adamantium coated on his skeleton. Flashbacks of when he went through the Weapon X procedure himself pierced through X25's head, causing his toned body to tremble. It wasn't long before the teen broke down and began lunging at the machine, only for the collar around his neck to deliberately deliver such powerful electric shocks that his body was immobilized. X25 refused the urge to scream, in spite of the surging pain, which gave the feeling that his body was melting away. In an attempt to move forward, he passed out, unaware of a certain power that reawakened inside of him.

*linebreak*

X25 woke on the cold floor of his cell, his weak body feeling heavy. Groaning as he forced himself into a seating position, all of the memories of the previous night overwhelmed him. Panicking, he scooted back to the plain white wall and clenched his thought racing head. _'No, no, no, no! X27 went through the Weapon X process! I couldn't stop it! Now he's in pain because of me!'_ Eventually he calmed down enough to reflect on his disposition. Though he was still angry, so he glared at the door. _'That's the final straw! I'm breaking out of this place, and so are the others! I'm sick of this shit!'_

At that moment, the door opened up, and in came two guards. "Get up punk, it's time to get yourself to breakfast." The first one commanded. X25 did as told, only to get shoved to the ground by the second guard.

"And don't expect some glorious meal after that stunt you pulled yesterday. Your rations are being cut in half for the next week!" The second armed guard laughed. "I'm surprised you get to eat at all, you freak! If I was in charge, I'd have you starve to death while tied up and beaten like a piñata!" X25 glared, but said nothing. He got back up and continued walking to the dining hall. When he arrived, he approached the server, received his rations, and headed to his table. Sitting next to a shaken X27, he whispered, "I'm sorry," before turning to the others with determination and stating, "We need to leave this place. What they did to X27, that is the last straw." R2 looked at him as in bewilderment.

"Are you insane?! There's no way of escaping this place. The walls are made with metal stronger than adamantium and there are guards everywhere!"

M13 decided to side with X25. "Yeah, well we have powers that could destroy this place as easily as a B-29! All we have to do is get our collars off! Once that happens, I could bend the metal and create paths to escape, and all of us could kill anyone in our way!"

"They'll find us like they do all weapons!"

"You don't know that!"

"Yes I do!"

As the two continued their argument, X25 took notice to the others displaying disapproving glances. Disappointed, he quickly finished his broth soup and exited the dining room. Guards escorted him back to his cell where he contemplated a reasonable escape that the others would agree to. The entire time, he felt chilled, almost frozen. It was all too familiar, even though he didn't know why. He felt as if ice was mainly forming around his heart and at the ends of his fingertips. He looked down at his hands, and to his surprise, a piece of crystallized ice formed. _'No way! I thought the only powers I had were claws, senses, and healing!'_ Slipping the shard of ice in his pocket, he devised a new plan of escape utilizing this power.

Later that day, X25 was sent to lunch, where he received another small cup of broth soup. He sat at his normal table, ready to tell the others about his discovery. Not everyone was there yet, so he waited, taking his shard of ice and gliding its point across the vibranium table. To his surprise, the ice scratched it, leaving a small indentation when he pulled his hand away. _'Holy shit, it can cut through vibranium?! Not even adamantium can cut through such a metal, and adamantium is indestructible!'_ This pleased him because now he was _certain_ that this ability could help them, and at last had a case. But little did he know that he wasn't the only one.

*linebreak*

M14 sat in her cell, waiting for lunch when something strange happened. She could feel all of the magnetic wavelengths around her, which wasn't supposed to happen. She looked down at her collar and realized it was off. Raising an eyebrow, she whispered to herself, "Odd." Then, making sure the camera didn't see her actions, she bent a piece of the metal wall, having it cut the circuitry in her collar without visibly damaging the outside. As the guards came to escort her to lunch, the wall was back to normal, and a smile crept across her face.

*linebreak*

After a few minutes of waiting, everyone was present. X25 told his siblings about the ice he could create and gave them a mini demonstration small enough for the guards to not see. The group stared at the ice scratching the table in shock and aww. Once he finished, M13 decided to let them in on her secret as well. She restored the table with a glance, and everyone looked at her for an explanation. Shrugging, she said, "My collar stopped working. Want me to stop yours too?" The others nodded and M13 used her magnetic powers to destroy the insides of their collars, without damaging the outside, so that the guards wouldn't know as long as the children behaved.

The siblings weren't the only ones who heard the conversation. Three other mutants had been listening in, curious about the ordeal. Hearing that the collars didn't work, the five instantly moved their seats closer. "Destroy ours too." Requested one of them, a six year old girl with pupiless aqua eyes and orange hair that complimented her tan skin. M13 nodded, destroying the insides of their collars too. Grateful, the group thanked her and asked if they could join the escape.

R2 looked at them. "How do you suppose we do that? They'll catch us within seconds of realizing we're gone, not to mention the alarms could go off." He reasoned. The toxic boy with pink hair, B8, looked away while the mocha tone boy with green hair, A3, shrugged, his pink eyes glinting.

"Guess we'll have to work around that then."

*linebreak*

It was nighttime, and all of the guards were sound asleep at their posts. Or, at least X25 hoped that was the case. Checking the sound outside before making his move, he unsheathed his retractable adamantium claws, coated them with his special ice, and slashed right through his door, creating an exit. The teen went through, surprised by how bright it still was, especially at this hour, but that currently didn't matter. The clanging sound of the metal door hitting the ground caused the snoozing guards to awaken. Eyes widened, they aimed their guns at him, ready to fire. X25 rolled his eyes, knowing that those measly bullets couldn't kill him. Before a single bullet could leave their barrels, the teen moved swiftly, cutting the guns in half and then dismembering the men's arms with ease. They screamed as blood gushed from their open wounds, and within seconds they fell to the ground dead. X25's forearms were now covered in blood, and his black shirt was stained. He shrugged, unfazed. _'I'll deal with that later. But for right now, I need to find the others.'_ With determination, he ran in the direction of the closest cell. But when the boy got there, he saw that N6 already out. "How-"

"Let's just say that the guards aren't very good at keeping an eye on their belongings." The demon tailed girl interrupted, grinning as she held up a keycard. Just then, the alarm went off.

"Oh come on!" X25 groaned. Footsteps could be heard coming their way. HYDRA guards' footsteps. "They're coming." The two prepared for the oncoming enemies. Nodding at each other, they ran towards in for the fight.

*linebreak*

 _Slash._ A set of guards fell to the ground twitching. Above their corpses stood M13, who had molten metal flying around her. Her once medium soft silver eyes were now glowing a bright purple that almost looked white. She continued walking past them, crushing one of their heads with her foot as she did. "How pathetic. To think that these assholes talked all that smack about being superior to us. And to think that the only thing controlling us was was a damn collar. But now those are gone they're the ones on the floor."

After a few minutes, she found the other five in the sector that wanted to join the escape. Sending a magnetic pulse to the doors in her way, they all shattered into pieces. Out came F5, A3, and B8. The lot of them smiled at her presence. "Hey M13! Thanks for coming for us!" F5 chirped. M13 nodded in acknowledgement.

"Don't thank me yet; we still have to get out of this place. Now come on!" She urged, running through the hallway. The others followed, tearing off the collars around their necks. Upon a few turns however, they bump into a particularly familiar HYDRA agent. "Mayme?! What are you doing here?!"

The twenty six year old laughed softly. "Well I _am_ Viper's subordinate. Of course I'd be here!" She said, handing the teen a map. "Take this. It'll take you to a shed full of vehicles you can use to escape. I suggest taking the motor homes because they're filled with money and food. Now hurry, you don't have much time." The children nodded their heads subserviently and continued down their routes, meeting with the rest of the group on the way. When they finally reached the outside world, they were surrounded by an entire squad of men. There were also giant tanks, war trucks, helicopters, and one of the monsterific mutant targeting sentinels. M13 glared. "Of course they did." She muttered. "I'll bring down the sentinel, you guys fight through the men." She commanded, unaware of a particular lurking magnetic force.

Everything seemed fine at first. N6 teleported herself and R2 onto a moving motorcycle, using her tail to pierce the rider's heart and flinging him off in the process. They drove off. P8 sped into the action, using her super speed and a knife to slice through the throats of dozens of soldiers at once. F5 used a shield, to protect herself from bullets, and her hallucination power to make the soldiers miss as she didn't have a healing factor and couldn't risk getting injured. The same issue was a commonality between A3 and B8 as well, who were busy trying to make sure they weren't hit while fighting. B8 sent out as many radioactive blasts he could at the tanks, causing them to explode, killing multiple nearby soldiers, who screamed in agony as their insides melted away in the scorching hot fire. X26 and X27 jumped from multiple trees, trying to get through the easy way. But as they reached to what they thought was the end of the chaos, two metallic tentacles wrapped around their feet and slammed them to the ground. Painfully turning, they saw a six foot eleven inch tall man. He had red eyes, blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and pale grey skin. His red and silver armor covered the visible parts of the technology infused with his body. The two young clawed mutants gulped, recognizing the monster of a man. "Omega Red." They verbally synchronized, struggling to pull free from the Russian mercenary's grip to no avail. Just when they thought all was lost however, they heard a deafening roar of rage that sounded similar to a band of banshees' screaming. Everyone swerved their heads in the direction of the ear aching roar to see X25 racing towards them. His eyes flared toxic green, his claws exposed and covered with the unpierceable ice, and white smoke came out of his mouth. The two on the ground grinned, directing their attention towards Omega Red. "You're screwed now you tinhead." X26 stated as X25 lunged at the Russian, his sharp claws piercing right through the metal armor. The man let out a cry of pain before attempting to pull the berserking teen off his back. But before he could do so, X25 continued to stab him repeatedly, forcing the mercenary to let go of the other two. The boy continued stabbing the man in the back until he fell down, and then he offed the man's head. It didn't end there. He kept on slashing through the deceased ally of HYDRA until there was nothing more than scraps of metal and organs scattered everywhere. When the mini berserker rage was over, X25 looked up to see the other mutants staring back at him, waiting for him to come. Scurrying to his feet, he joined them, looking at the map M13 was given. The group followed the directions the map had relayed, and soon enough they found the shed of vehicles. Inside were two motorhomes, one fairly small and the other the size of a tour bus. R2 walked towards the bigger one. "We should probably take this one. It has more room." He suggested. A3 shook his head and made his way to the smaller one, F5 and B8 tagging along.

"We will take this one, you guys take that one. There are more of you than there are us, so it's only fair. Besides, we won't all fit in there, regardless of its large size."

"Are you sure?" S8 asked. "We can make room! Build more beds, expand the space, or even rotate using a tent! Are you sure you guys want to leave on your own terms?"

B8 nodded. "We'll keep in contact though. I stole a couple communicators and wired them to only communicate to each other while we were waiting for the escape time." He informed, handing X25 one of the two small devices in his hands. "Attach it on your dashboard, and we'll be able to communicate when necessary, or just to keep in touch. Also, my name is gonna be Ryder,, F5's is Encarna, and A3 is Matei."

X25 gave a slight smile. "Understood. Good luck to you."

"Same to you."

It has been hours since their escape from HYDRA, and all of them were hungry. S8 was driving, so he couldn't get anything, but M13 and R2 sure could. They began searching the cabinets for food when they came across a pile of folded clothes, labeled, and a note. M13 took the time to read it out loud. " _Dear Howletts/clones of Weapon X_ , _if you are reading this, then this means you have finally escaped. I recently packed this vehicle with all of your necessities; clothes, food, entertainment (you'll understand that eventually), and money(which is the currency used to get supplies). Your clothes are labeled by your weapon name. In return for this, all I ask for the lot of you to enjoy your freedom as much as you can. Sincerely, Mayme Hendra._ " The two teens glanced at one another before grabbing their piles of clothes. M13 went into the bathroom and instantly stripped herself of her bloodied clothes. She stepped into the shower, turned on the water and rinsed herself of any remaining dried blood. Once she was clean, she dressed in her new clothes, which consisted of a striped purple and yellow tank top underneath her red one-shoulder shirt, long purple fingerless gloves that pass her elbow by four inches, dark grey pants, white socks, red and purple shoes with yellow shoelaces, a spiked black choker, and one spiked bracelet on each wrist. She looked at herself, pleased. She left the bathroom and R2 went in. When he came out, he wore a white shirt with red writing saying "To the moon!" and an emoji, gray and blue basketball shorts, white socks with red trimming, and red and white sneakers with blue shoelaces. The process was repeated with all nine of them, including S8, who switched with N6 after she had her turn. As soon as N6 took the wheel however, she noticed some tall buildings ahead. At first she thought it was just her mind playing games with her, as she couldn't possibly believe that they made it to civilization so soon, but low and behold, they did. She immediately told the others, who all looked out the windows. Outside they saw strange moving images inside of thin metal boxes that were behind windows, some people having conversations with one another, some people holding bags, and some people eating strange foods the teens have never seen before. There was one thing they did recognize though, bread.

P8 immediately vibrated her molecules through the wall of the vehicle and sped off. Moments later, she was back with bread and other types of food she saw others eat. "Let's dig in!" She cheered, excited to get to feast on so much food in one inning. The others didn't hesitate to dig in. X25 grabbed his portion as well as N6's, placing hers on the seat right next to her before devouring his. The group never felt so stuffed. As the ones not driving relaxed, P8 tapped S8 on the shoulder. "Hey, I don't know why, but I thought you'd like this." She said, handing him a bottle of neutral orange nail polish. S8 smiled. "Thanks."

Eventually the group decided to stop, parking right next to a Seven Beleven. Exhausted from lack of sleep, they all slipped into unconsciousness. A few hours later, X27 awoke from his sleep coma to the sound of footsteps. Unsheathing his claws, the seven year old decided to investigate.

Everyone shot up from where they slept to the sound of a terrified scream. When they saw that X27 was missing, they rushed to their feet, and almost threw the motor home door off its hinges bursting outside. There they saw the bounty hunter Gauntlet holding a gun up to X27's head. "I'd listen to what I'm told if I were you. This gun is loaded with adamantium bullets."

X25 looked down at his feet and nodded. "I'll come quietly…" he started, walking towards the grinning man. The others watched in shock, not wanting him to surrender. What came next, however, no one expected. The boy disappeared in thin air, and everyone looked around trying to see where he went. A few moments later, he appeared behind Gauntlet, stabbing him right in the heart. The bounty hunter dropped his gun and twitched before dropping dead. S8 placed a hand on X25's shoulder. "That was a nice trick dan."

P8 rose an eyebrow. "Did you just say Dan?"

"Whoops. I meant to say man."

X25 shook it off. "You know, that's not a bad name. Danny Howlett."

S8 crossed his arms. "Nice. I'll be Jason Howlett then."

"Ronnie." R2 stated, yawning.

"Lizzy." M13 suggested for herself.

"Damien!" X27 cheered.

"Paige I guess." P8 shrugged.

"I'll be Danielle then, since I look like your twin _Danny_." X26 said.

"And I'll be Kate!" N6 finalized.

 **So there are the Howletts. Once victims of a corrupt organization, now a group of free individuals with a life to call their own What's to come to their future? Well only time can play that out. Stay in tuned for the next chapter!**

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	2. Chapter 1

_Get your filthy pathetic ass up X-25!" Shouted a soldier, kicking the worn out X-25 in the head with his steel toe boot. The boy tried to get up, his tired achy muscles struggling, but as soon as he did, his collar went off, sending hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity through the boy's body, making it feel as if his insides were melting. The excuse for the punishment? Well one of the soldiers made it clear._

 _"Maybe next time you will hurry up!"  
_

 _X-25 was unable to speak, knowing he'd get a worse punishment if he spoke up. So when the electrocution stopped, he forced himself up once more. Just then a set of chilling hands fell onto his shoulders. "Looks like my little weapon is having trouble cooperating." Came a venomous feminine voice. X-25 internally winced. It was Viper HYDRA. "It seems you've forgotten your purpose X-25, or should I remind you? You're nothing more than a weapon, a tool for my war. You're not meant to have feeling, not of any kind. Obey me with efficiency, never a delay. You do want to eat, don't you? How long has it been since your last meal, hmm? Oh right, it was four days ago. All because you can't even finish the most basic of the sentinels. Tell me, do you believe you deserve to live with such inaccuracies even a beginner wouldn't make?"  
_

 _"No Madame HYDRA, I failed as your weapon. I don't deserve anything." X-25 responded, his cold voice almost showing no emotion, but deep down it hurt._

 _Viper smiled behind the boy, digging her sharp nails in his shoulders. But he couldn't cry out in pain, nor could he wince. Doing so would result in punishment, something the boy didn't want. "And tell me X-25, why are you alive?"  
_

 _"Because you created me Madame Hydra." X-25 answered, secretly hating the truth. He bowed his head to his master._

 _"And what does that mean for you?"  
_

 _"I exist to serve you, I have no rights. And when you find me unfit, you will have me exterminated without expecting any backlash."  
_

 _"Good boy, now if you want to prove to be fit for the job, you'll go through the routine again, but this time you will not exceed the time limit. Otherwise I'll have you disposed of." Viper forced the physically aching X-25 back in the practice room. Soon enough two class 8 sentinels came in, ready to attack the boy with everything they had. X-25 forced himself back into the fight, not ready. He was beaten down and thrown around multiple times. But he knew he had to win, otherwise it would mean the end of him, and prove that he was nothing more than a puny freak who was a waste of oxygen. Getting back up every time, he forced his aching body to charge again and again until he realized how to destroy them. Using his claws and ignoring the burning sensation in his arms, he climbed up one of the sentinels from behind, got the attention of the other one, and lunged as soon as the second sentinel shot a beam at the first one's head, exactly where the boy was. But now, unfortunately for the remaining sentinel, X-25 had landed on the sentinel's shoulder and quickly sliced his claws through its neck. The killing machine fell to the ground and X-25 landed, extremely wobbly, but he did it. A few seconds later the timer went off, and the boy was relieved. As he was let out, two soldiers led him to his cell, which was pitch black. The guards kicked him into the room, and when he turned, one of the guards hit him in the face with their gun.  
_

The sound of strange strange sirens caused the eight Howletts to wake up, most shaken due to nightmares. They were on high alert, afraid of the possibility HYDRA had found them. Paige was the first to look out the window. "It doesn't look like HYDRA, it's something else." She read the words on the vehicles across the street. "Am… bul…. ance… Ambulance, that's what they're labeled as."

Curious, the other Howletts looked out the window to watch a man being pulled out of the building and into the ambulance. From what they could tell, the man was a sickly pale, and a strange substance, presumably vomit, was on his lips and stained shirt. The children were more than surprised, since they didn't expect this. People caring about the health of each other? Instead of killing off the weak? Never have they seen such a thing, and they were unsure of what to think. They continued to watch as the ambulance drove off. Once the vehicle was gone, more were in view, having the word _Police_ on their side. These vehicles were much smaller, though they still had the lights. Outside the building were men in uniforms, talking to some bystanders.

Damien tried to sneak outside to see what was occurring, only for Jason to stop him in the nick of time. "Don't even try. We don't know how people in society operate yet." The fourteen year old warned, his amber eyes serious. Pouting, Damien walked back to the bed and sat down.

Lizzy walked up to her youngest sibling and sat next to him. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get to know more about the world, but right now we need to be on our best behavior. Besides, they might try asking us questions we don't know the answer to." She gently told him, smiling slightly. Damien looked up and nodded.

Just then, there was a knock on the motorhome door. Cautious, Danny told everyone to stay in the back before answering. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by one of the men in uniform. "Hello young man," The stranger greeted. "I'm officer Richardson. Are either of your parents awake? And if so, may I speak with them?"

As irritated as the boy was, Danny remained calm. "No. I'm the only one awake." He lied, pulling off a straight face. There was no way he would let a stranger anywhere near his siblings so soon after escaping, that would be absurd.

The officer sighed. "Well, in that case, would you mind telling me anything you saw involving this incident? Any suspicious person running away? Any-"

"I didn't see anything. Only reason I'm awake is because of your vehicles." Danny muttered, his sharp blue eyes narrowed.

"Oh, then I apologize. Have a good evening young man." Officer Richardson headed back to the cars, flustered. When his partner asked how it went, he was vague as to not let him know the embarrassment of the situation. He was too prideful, even if this encounter was small.

Soon enough, the uniformed men left the area in their vehicles. Danny watched as they left, glad they were gone. "It's safe now." He told his siblings, who came up to the window again, curiously looking through it. Indeed everything was cleared out, which made the children relieved. All but Damien, Danny, and Lizzy fell back asleep. Damien tugged on Lizzy's pajama pants. She looked down at him.

"What is it Damien?" Lizzy asked, lowering herself to her youngest brother's level. The seven year old seemed upset.

"I'm… worried. What if they come back with HYDRA?" Damien clung to his sister. "I don't want to go back, I don't want to be punished if they find us."

Lizzy pat his back. "I understand… We're all feeling that right now, and you're probably feeling it most of all due to what happened before we decided to escape. But don't worry, they won't get us. We have powers, and no collars."

Damien looked up. "True…"

"Why don't you rest then, okay?" Lizzy suggested, "That way you can be full of energy when we start exploring civilization later." She led her youngest brother back to where their sleeping siblings were and tucked him in. After a few minutes, Damien fell asleep, leaving only Lizzy and Danny awake.

"It's been a week…" Danny muttered, sitting at the small motorhome table. "Has he made progress?"

"Yes, but barely. Luckily he's not going through what we did, since we're free now." Lizzy answered as she opened a cabinet and pulled out a loaf of bread. Taking a few slices, she sat with her brother. "He won't know how painful the aftermath could've been."

"Hopefully he never will. But with HYDRA more than likely looking for us, we shouldn't let our guard down." Danny reminded. He stole a small piece of Lizzy's bread.

Lizzy nodded. "I agree, but for how long? They have enough weapons, they don't need us."

"Whether they need us or not, our escape will wake up some of the weapons, which will be detrimental for HYDRA as a whole." Although he didn't mind the idea of all the other weapons rioting, Danny didn't want that uproar to motivate HYDRA to find him and his siblings. It would mean more stress for them, and that's the last thing they needed after all the years of torture they were put through.

"You have a point there, as much as I hate to admit it." Lizzy agreed with a sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it…" She glanced at him. "You had a bad memory appear again, didn't you?"

Frowning, Danny replied, "That doesn't matter to me, and it isn't relevant to our current situation. Right now we have our freedom to worry about."

*linebreak*

Having just arrived back to the blood stained base, and having no prior knowledge of the escape, anger pulsed through Viper's veins as she faced her men. "How did this happen?!" She questioned, her venomous voice filled with fury. The men were all afraid to answer her, and more afraid of the possible consequences of their failure, so none of them spoke up, their heads down in pitiful shame. This only angered Viper more. "If none of you will tell me, then I have no choice but to check the cameras. You'll be reprimanded for this when I come back." She exited the room, leaving her highly nervous soldiers to ponder what their punishment would be…

*linebreak*

It way daytime, which meant it was a perfect time to explore while hidden in the crowd. The Howletts decided to temporarily separate into groups of two and meet back at the motorhome before sundown. Ronnie, who shifted his skin to a chocolate brown, went with Kate. Lizzy decided to choose Damien so she could help get his mind off of everything that had happened. Danielle and Paige basically ran off together as soon as groups of two were mentioned. That left Jason and Danny.

"So, what do you want to check out first?" Jason asked as he and his pale brother began walking. "There's so many, I cannot choose myself."

Danny looked at him. "I have no clue. Let's simply walk around until we… wait… do you smell that?"

Sniffing the air, Jason nodded. "Yeah, and whatever it is, we have to find out. It smells exceptionally good." The boys followed the strange pleasant scent down a few blocks, both eager to figure out what it was. They ended up being led to a small pizza shop. Jason glanced at the people eating pizza, then looked at his brother. "We have to get some."

"Yeah." Danny pulled some money out of his pocket and counted. "Let's get twenty dollars worth, that way the others can have some too." He suggested as they headed inside the building. Making his way to the counter, the ravenous haired boy requested, "I'll get what twenty dollars can for that." He pointed to some pizza.

The man at the counter shuddered before asking, "A-Are there any toppings you wish to add to your pizza? O-Or is it just a plain cheese?"

The two brothers exchanged looks before stating, "Just a plain."

*linebreak*

As Paige and Danielle walked around, they noticed a store full of beautiful costumes. They saw it as really interesting clothes, so they entered the store. "Wow, there are so many types of clothing articles here." Paige said in awe. "Wanna try some on?"

Smiling, Danielle nodded. "Of course I do."

Both girls started trying on costumes, using the dressing rooms of course, trying to find the perfect one. As they showed each outfit off to each other, some people began watching. They had not seen such well built girls before, and the facial features on Danielle and Paige made them even more appealing to the onlookers' eyes. Both girls paid no mind, they were too busy enjoying trying on costumes. "This one is nice." Paige told her sister as she came out in a bunny costume. This costume consisted of bunny ears, a silky blue dress, a gorgeous leather belt with imitation watches, and bunny paw gloves.

Danielle almost let out a laugh. "Cute, though I like mine better." She was wearing a Sonya costume. Both girls went back into their changing rooms, changed back to their regular clothes, checked the price tags of the costumes, and went up to the counter to pay.

*linebreak*

"Hey Ronnie… Why did you stop?" Kate asked her older brother. She glanced at Ronnie, then what he was staring at. It was a bookstore. Curious, Kate's ears twitched. "You… want to check this place out?"

Ronnie nodded. "Yeah… This place probably has files full of interesting forms of knowledge, which could be helpful." He and his sister shared a nod before entering the store.

*linebreak*

As they walked, Lizzy noticed how quiet Damien was. This worried her. "Damien… Are you feeling okay? You haven't said anything the entire walk." She asked in a soft tone. Damien looked up.

"Why did our creators make my bones metal? What about me getting older?" The small boy tilted his head, fear present in his big blue eyes. "How will that work?"

Lizzy, full of sympathy, lowered herself to Damien's height. "Don't worry, you're not going to age. Not anymore. HYDRA chose our permanent age to stay at, and you reached yours."

Confused, Damien said, "But I'm only seven. Why would they keep me so small?"

"Because you're able to do things grown people can't do, not that you have to anymore, but that's what they wanted you this small for." Lizzy explained. She saw her younger brother's sad expression, and held his chin up. "Look on the bright side, you'll always stay my baby brother."

Damien nodded. "Okay..." He grabbed his sister's hand. "Can we… head back?"

Smiling, Lizzy stood up. "Sure." They began to head back, reaching the motorhome around sundown. All of their siblings were already there, eating. Danny noticed them both, so he came over with two plates of pizza and handed one to each of them. Hungry, Damien and Lizzy joined the rest of the group in eating and talking, enjoying the rest of their night.

 **Well that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed.**

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